Chaos at Sydney Airport following storm

By Justine Landis Hanley

Sydney airport was thrown into chaos after a thunderstorm struck the city on Friday, with airlines struggling to keep up with cancelled and delayed flights.

Most of the rain fell in the west and south-west of the Sydney basin, accompanied by hail, flash flooding and lighting that struck the city at a rate of about 1000 strikes per hour.

Sydney Airport domestic terminals experienced "significant delays" as a result of the weather, a spokeswoman for the airport said. Qantas cancelled over thirty flights on Friday night.

Qantas customers have since taken to Twitter, complaining they spent hours sitting on the tarmac, waiting for luggage, or stuck in queues waiting to reschedule their flights.

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The airline struggled to recover from the delays, with Qantas customers complaining on social media that they spent hours sitting on the tarmac, waiting for luggage, or stuck in queues waiting to reschedule their flights.

Twitter user Tim Fish blamed lack of staff for delays, saying a bad night at the office is what happens when "you don't have enough people to man the desks when a storm hits Sydney and messes up flights"

Multiple twitter posts described hours spent on the phone or waiting at Qantas service desks trying to rebook their itinerary.

A video from Naomi Leonard showed tired passengers looking for their bags at Sydney Airport at 2am, while another twitter user alleged on Saturday afternoon that hundreds of Qantas customers could not locate their luggage in the chaos without explanation.

People at two o'clock in the morning still wandering around with no idea where to pick up their bags and not a Qantas person in sight

Groom-to-be Kieran McGregor, from Melbourne, complained to the airline after they rebooked his wedding guests on a flight for Saturday evening that would see them land after the ceremony ended.

"My friend missing my wedding is apparently an inconvenience. I'm furiously appalled at the lack of care and refusing to try to get my friend on a flight until tonight," Mr McGregor tweeted.

Meanwhile, another twitter user said a teary phone call with his mum revealed that his parents hadn't slept in over 30 hours due to their flight being cancelled.

"They have been at [the] airport since 3pm yesterday. Qantas staff have been disgusting and rude," he tweeted.

Qantas has been contacted by Fairfax Media for comment. A spokesperson for the airline told news.com.au that "delays are less than ideal, but our operational teams are working to get customers affected by the Sydney storm on their ways as soon as possible".

"We thank our customers for their patience and understanding. Customers on cancelled services last night have been provided with meals and accommodation," the Qantas spokesperson added.

Qantas wasn't the only airline accused of mismanagement. Mumbrella News Editor Paul Wallbank said Virgin Australia refused to start checking in passengers for an overbooked flight to Denpasar until enough customers volunteered to take another flight. When no one volunteered, a staff member allegedly told passengers that "those with the lowest fare will be taken off. I warned you".

Virgin Australia has been contacted for comment on the situation.

Social media users criticised Sydney Airport sharing an idyllic pictures of planes taking off into the sunset, with the caption "ain't nothing like cruising off into the sunset on a Fri-Yay!", while airlines scrambled to manage on the ground. Virgin Australia's tweet that "Friday afternoon is cleared for take-off" also left a sour taste in the mouths of many Sydney passengers.

"Awful and insensitive tweet timing Sydney Airport given that your airport was in chaos all PM with zero visbility of airport staff to assist stranded, some disabled and newborn, passengers. Families with children left without luggage or accom[modation]," twitter user Tom Forbes wrote.

"There’s obviously no accountability on your part for the storm, but the emergency response to the crisis from Sydney Airport was abominable, and at least invisible."